Self-experiment I sustained the tensor tympani rumble for 26.18 seconds with isolated control (14M) – full data inside
I've had voluntary control of my tensor tympani muscle since childhood, without needing to yawn, swallow, or move my jaw. Out of curiosity, I decided to measure how long I could sustain the contraction, and the results were surprising enough to write up properly.
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## Abstract
This self-experiment documents isolated voluntary control of the tensor tympani muscle, without associated jaw, swallowing, or eyelid movement. A sustained contraction of 26.18 seconds was recorded under resting conditions, with neural fatigue evidenced by progressive difficulty in keeping the eyes open during maximal effort. This duration significantly exceeds the 3-5 second averages informally reported in enthusiast communities and suggests a rare neuromotor control variant.
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## Method
- **Subject:** 14-year-old male, no history of hearing disorders or tinnitus.
- **Procedure:** Isolated contraction of the tensor tympani muscle, identified by the characteristic internal "rumbling" or "roaring" sound. Timed using the standard stopwatch app on a mobile device.
- **Conditions:** Quiet room, seated position, no external auditory stimuli, no concurrent muscle movements (jaw, swallowing, or facial tension).
- **Attempts:**
- Attempt 1: Eyes open, maximal voluntary contraction held until fatigue.
- Attempt 2: Eyes open, performed 5 minutes after Attempt 1.
- Attempt 3: Eyes closed (planned for tomorrow, with 24h rest).
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## Results
| Condition | Time (seconds) | Observations |
|-----------|---------------|---------------|
| Eyes open (Attempt 1) | 26.18 s | No tremor until second 20; progressive urge to close eyes from second 20 onwards |
| Eyes open (Attempt 2, 5 min later) | 21.21 s | Clear muscular fatigue (19% decrease vs Attempt 1); no eye-closure urge due to shorter duration |
| Eyes closed (Attempt 3, pending) | [Pending] | Expected to exceed 26.18 s due to removal of neural interference with eyelid control |
**Screenshots:**
- Attempt 1:
- Attempt 2: [
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## Key Neurological Observation
During the final seconds of Attempt 1 (approximately from second 20 to 26.18), I experienced a **progressive, involuntary difficulty in keeping my eyes open**. The urge to close my eyelids intensified as I approached muscular failure. This was not a voluntary choice but an apparent **neural spillover** from the trigeminal motor nucleus (which innervates the tensor tympani) to the facial nucleus (which controls orbicularis oculi and eyelid closure).
This phenomenon mirrors the well-documented "overflow" seen during maximal voluntary contractions in other muscle groups (e.g., handgrip causing facial grimacing). It supports the hypothesis of shared or adjacent neural circuitry between the trigeminal and facial motor systems.
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## Discussion
- **Prevalence of isolated control:** Based on the 2021 Reddit survey (n=192), only **5-8%** of individuals who can rumble can do so without associated jaw, swallowing, or eye movements.
- **Average endurance:** Most self-reported rumbles last **3-5 seconds** before fatigue. Sustained contractions beyond 10 seconds are rarely documented in informal forums.
- **Comparison:** My 26.18-second hold places me in what appears to be the **top 1-2%** of endurance among reported cases.
- **Fatigue confirmation:** The 21.21-second second attempt (19% shorter) confirms rapid glycogen depletion consistent with **Type II (fast-twitch) muscle fiber physiology**, typical of the tensor tympani.
- **Neural interference:** The eye-closure urge at maximal effort suggests that sustained contraction may recruit adjacent motor pools, possibly explaining why most individuals cannot isolate this muscle for extended periods.
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## Limitations
- **Single-subject design (n=1):** Results may not generalize.
- **Subjective measurement:** No electromyography (EMG) or tympanometry was used to objectively confirm continuous contraction.
- **No external audio:** The rumble is internal and cannot be captured by conventional microphones.
- **Lack of control for habituation:** Prior knowledge of the experiment may have influenced performance.
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## Next Steps
I will perform Attempt 3 (eyes closed, with 24 hours of rest) tomorrow and update this post with the result. I hypothesize that removing the neural demand for eyelid elevation will allow a longer contraction, potentially reaching **28-30 seconds**.
If anyone has access to a contact microphone or an EMG setup and would like to collaborate on a more formal measurement, I'm open to it.
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## Questions for the Community
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How long can YOU sustain the rumble?
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Can you do it without moving your jaw, swallowing, or closing your eyes?
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Have you ever experienced the eye-closure urge or any other involuntary muscle activation when pushing to maximum?
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## References
- Reddit r/earrumblers survey (2021): Prevalence of voluntary tensor tympani control (~43% overall, ~5-8% isolated).
- Fuchs, P. A. (2018). *The tensor tympani muscle: anatomy and function*. In: Auditory and Vestibular Research.
- General principles of motor unit recruitment and fatigue in fast-twitch muscles (Guyton & Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology).
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**Update (when Attempt 3 is done):** I will edit this post with the eyes-closed result and any new observations.
Happy rumbling!
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Posted Aug 21, 2026, 2:32 AM UTC